Assam, (in Sanskrit means un-parallel)

is a Northeastern state of India with its capital at Dispur, in the outskirts of the city Guwahati. Located south of the eastern Himalayas, Assam comprises the Brahmaputra and the Barak river valleys and the Karbi Anglong and the North Cachar Hills. Assam is surrounded by the the other six of the Seven Sister States: Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya. These states are connected to the rest of India via a narrow strip in West Bengal called the Siliguri Corridor or "Chicken's Neck".

Assam also shares international borders with Bhutan and Bangladesh; and cultures, peoples and climate with South-East Asia—important elements in India’s Look East policy.The plains are fertile and yield abundant harvest, without much effort being put; this if not devoured by flood waters. So, PEOPLE HERE TEND TO BECOME LAZY AND LAID BACK

Assam has successfully conserved the one-horned Indian rhinoceros from near extinction, along with the tiger and numerous species of birds, and it provides one of the last wild habitats for the Asian elephant. It is becoming an increasingly popular destination for wild-life tourism, and Kaziranga and Manas are both World Heritage Sites.Assam was also known for its Sal tree forests and forest products, much depleted now. A land of high rainfall, Assam is endowed with lush greenery and the mighty river Brahmaputra, whose tributaries and oxbow lakes provide the region with a unique hydro-geomorphic and aesthetic environment.

Assamese culture is traditionally a hybrid one developed due to assimilation of ethno-cultural groups in the past. Therefore, both local elements or the local elements in Sanskritised forms are distinctly found.The major milestones in evolution of Assamese culture are:

Assimilation in the Kamarupa Kingdom for almost 700 years (under the Varmans for 300 years, Salastambhas and Palas for each 200 years).

Establishment of the Ahom dynasty in the 13th century AD and assimilation for next 600 years.

Assimilation in the Koch Kingdom (15th-16th century AD) of western Assam and Kachari Kingdom (12th-18th century AD) of central and southern Assam.

Vaishnava Movement led by Srimanta Sankardeva (Xonkordeu) and its contribution and cultural changes.

Historically Assam is mentioned as Kamrup and its King fought on the side of the Kauravas during the epic battle of Kurukshetra. He had brought a large numbers of war elephants with him and was said to have fought valiantly. The Kamakya temple in Guwahati is the seat of Tantric cult (now banned). The temple is believed to have been built at the site where the genital of the consort of Shiva fell after being cut to pieces by the Chakra of Vishnu. Shiva was doing Tantav (the dance of death) in grief, and fearing that the Universe (Shristi) might be finished, Vishnu took the drastic step of hacking the lifeless body of Parvati on the advise of other Gods. Everyplace where the body parts fell is revered by the Hindus.

Assam is home to diverse groups of people, apart from the Assamesse; various other ethnic groups like Karbis, Dimasas, Rabhas, Mikirs, Misings, Bodos and many others who have made Assam their home since time immemorial. The ethnic Assamesse who are today the most dominant group in the politico-social landscape of the state are mainly descendants of the Ahoms, who immigrated to Assam in the 12th Century A.D. from Thailand. It is said that Sukapha Phukan (a Shan Prince) was fleeing from the wrath of his own blood relatives. Though they first came in contact with the Naga tribes, they were more than a match for them. Nagas had been legendary fighters and remain still today.

So they established their Kingdom at Sibsagar (Upper Assam) and this Ahom Dynasty lasted for 600 years before the British established their control over Assam. During this period, the Ahoms carried out punitive campaigns against the indigenous tribesmen like the Bodos and the Dimasas. Unable to resist the depredations of the Ahoms, these tribals went deeper and deeper into the Jungles. The Dimasas were the most affected as they had, prior to the advent of the Ahoms, established a Grand empire with vast parts of Assam and north Bengal under their Domain. Dimapur was their Capital, they lost it first to the Ahoms, then the Nagas wrested it from Assam. Lachit Barphukan was a Great General who inflicted a crushing defeat to the Mughals in the Battle of Sariaghat (near present day Guwahati) and stopped the onslaught of the Muslims.


In 1826, Assam passed into the hands of the British after the Singing of the Treaty of Yandboo. Prior to that, Assam was laid waste by the marauding Armies of the Burmese (the Arakans and Mogs). Unable to resist them, the Ahoms called the British to save their skins. The British chased them out and brought peace in Assam.

Soon the British found out the commercial opportunities in Assam. Tea, Timber and Coal and later Oil made Assam a lucrative place. To work in these industries, they needed manpower, which they brought from outside as the locals were too lazy to work in those grueling conditions. So came the Karias, Mundas and the Oraons of the Adivasi Stock to work in the tea gardens and became the tea-tribes. Bengalis came to work in the clerical grade. Marwaris came to do business and the Biharis to do the manual work. Those were the days when Assam was synonymous with the dreaded disease of Malaria. Many died and many fled while many more persisted doggedly. Initially, Bengalis were very reluctant to come to Assam because of Malaria. Many would flee within a few days of arriving in Assam. But slowly they began to stay put and the British made Bengali the state language. They gruelled in those unforgiving conditions and taught the Assamese children, empowered them to know the world beyond. They slogged in the oil fields of Digboi and in Dibruagarh, they did pioneering work in Berry White Medical School which later became Assam Medical College. Many had settled in Assam even before Partition. It is hard for anyone not to be charmed by Assam, in spite of all those drawbacks. Even before 1947, Bengali neighborhoods had sprung up in major towns of the State.


Then suddenly and brutally came The Partition of 1947, a tragedy without parallels in Human History. Millions became homeless while lakhs were slaughtered. Punjabis and Sindhis, displaced from West Pakistan, settled in western and northern India and became relatively prosperous. There were no major hostility displayed by the locals in those parts. But in Assam, the Assamesse began to display hostility towards the Hindu Bengalis within a few years of The Partition. Increasingly the Assamesse began to show their displeasure with the Bengali cultures and traditions. They began to resent the boisterous nature of Durga Puja, the eternal Hindu Bengali Affair. Particularly, the dramas and plays enacted by them which were based on the works of the Great Bengali writers like Tagore and Sarat Chandra. This began to prick the Assamesse conscience, who were and still remain devoid of any worthy name in literature.